In San Francisco, it takes all stripes

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, January 20, 2002

Boaz Mazor showed his bias toward San Francisco, and it was kind of fun watching him undress to do it.

We're talking about his shirt, cut on the bias, so that the stripes ran diagonally across his chest and collar. The Oscar de la Renta-Balmain salesman comes to town three times a year (in between other stops around the world) to introduce the latest fashions to San Francisco's best-dressed ladies.

He opened his coat like a flasher to show off his stripes at an impromptu cocktail party in his honor thrown by Sharon Owsley, who took time out of her law school studies to phone up 40 friends at the last minute.

It was one of the first post-holiday parties around, so people were glad to get together. "It's been so long since we've seen each other!" said Allison Speer to fellow partygoers, by which she meant the pre-Christmas parties.

Ann Getty, Debby Magowan, Therese Post and Pam Glogau were there, with their assorted spouses, just to name a few. It was Boaz's first of three days at Saks, and already he'd sold nearly $200,000 worth of clothing. "The town goes crazy and I go crazy," he said, as one guest after another rushed up to greet him. "It's like herding cattle with Boaz," said Sally Debenham, who was referring to the crush and not anyone's dress sizes. "It's 'Hello, darling,' two steps, and a kiss, and 'Hello darling,' two steps and a kiss."

It wasn't cattle but parrots that Candy Hamm asked Boaz about. His blue front Amazon, Alfie (his pet for 27 years) had come down with a yeast infection while boarding at 33rd & Bird in New York (where famous bandleaders and art critics take their birds while out of town). Not to worry; a vet was consulted to get Alfie on the mend, meaning Boaz could return his attention to birds of a different feather. Boaz, back in New York, says the vet cost $1,000 and adds, "Maybe Arianna Huffington could lobby for health insurance for birds -- they have it for dogs and cats, but not for parrots. I guess they're an inferior race."

Debra Dooley, Laura Sweeney, Helen Pascoe (of here and the Dordogne), Dorothea Preus (of here and the Islands) and Michelle Larson, who's chairing the auction for the third time, were happy about the donations from trustees, collectors and galleries in New York and Los Angeles. The catch includes an Andy Warhol silk screen, a Richard Tuttle and a Clay Ketter, as well as trips to Amsterdam, Paris and Hawaii. The pre-party was scheduled for Sept. 11, which seemed like a bad omen for the event. But things are going well so far. "I think it's because when everything goes wrong, it's the time when everyone pitches in and pulls together as a team," she said.

BIRTHDAY BASHES

Friends of developer John McNellis took turns verbally tag-teaming him at his 50th birthday party at Boulevard last weekend. Portola Valley's Michelle and Roxy Rapp (he developed lots of downtown Palo Alto); Woodside's Julie Baigent and Bill Barrett (he played a key role in the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay) and San Franciscans Chris and Matt Holmes (she of Axis trainers, he of Terranomics) razzed McNellis for his long-haired look. Cross John Davidson with Bruce Jenner, and you get the idea, only taller. "John has a couple of sayings, like 'Sell the disco before they stop dancing,' " Matt said. "He sold the disco, but kept the clothes and the hair."

SUBHED HERE

Yvonne Sangiamcomo, who throws the Red Tie Ball every two years to benefit the Little Sisters of the Poor, turned 70 last weekend and husband Angelo held a big bash to mark the landmark event, with 300 invited to the celebration in Pebble Beach.

Guests stayed at the Lodge at Pebble Beach and were treated to cocktails on the pier and then went by shuttle to her family home nearby for a Hawaiian themed party with food by Paula LeDuc, decor by Robert Fountain and entertainment by Al Jardine, one of the original Beach Boys. There were toasts and roasts of Yvonne by various Gallos and an Alioto, Gina Moscone, and Becky and Frank Visconti who came from Las Vegas. There was even a special message and tribute sent from opera star Luciano Pavarotti. Lucky lady!

THIS AND THAT

Carl Pascarella, CEO of Visa USA, and his wife, Yurie, made a stage debut of sorts last month as costumed party guests in the San Francisco Ballet's "Nutcracker" (Visa is a sponsor). Didn't see them? They don't know how to waltz, so they had to stand in the background, but there's always time to learn by next year. Then on Friday he was scheduled to have been one of several nimblefoots to jog through San Francisco with the Olympic torch, which is making its way to the 2002 Games (Visa's a sponsor) in Salt Lake City.